In mid-November 2012, federal authorities released their much-anticipated ”FCPA: A Resource Guide to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,” prepared jointly by the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many had hoped that the Guide would clarify gray areas in the statute, but there is little in the Guide that is new, or that will alter the advice that has long been given on these topics by experienced FCPA counsel. That said, the Guide is a comprehensive treatise of great value, if only because it collects this information in a single place.

At 120 pages in length, with more than 400 endnotes, the Guide references virtually every significant piece of authority on the FCPA, including case law, prior enforcement actions, formal interpretive opinions, and speeches by senior U.S. officials, along with a thorough description of the statutory and policy underpinnings of the Act. The Guide provides a clear and concise reiteration of many core issues including, in particular...